Tipping

[cheerldrmom]

I am wondering how they work tips. I know when I did RC a few years back I think we had the money in envelopes for the waitstaff, cabin steward do they still do it this way. We will be doing anytime dining so should we tip at each meal???

[sept10dsm]

Princess has auto tips of $11.50 per person per day. This covers waiters/room steward. You may tip addl as you feel but these are added daily to your folio. $12.00 per day for suites.

[cwn]

No, Princess adds a hotel service charge to your account daily to cover the tipping. Makes it very easy and fair for all the many staff that make your cruise wonderful.

 

Do a search on here for the hundreds of posst on this topic or go to princess.com read about it there.

[Loonbeam]

From my FAQ:

 

Princess Hotel Charge (Auto-Tip) – Standard Policies

 

Official Princess standard guidelines as follows for ships other than those based in australia, however individual ship’s pursers have latitude to modify the process as appropriate for their ships.

 

1> The auto-tip added to your bill is pooled among dining servers and housekeeping and their support staff. If you remove the hotel charge any cash tips are put into the pool up to the pool amount. If you retain the hotel charge, the individual receives the additional amount. It is that individuals decision to ‘tip-out’ any support staff from the overage.

 

2> The 15% bar charge added to bills are pooled among the bar and bar support staff. I have not confirmed if this is across all bars or specific to venue. Cash tips given directly to a server or bartender are retained by that individual. Tip outs are at the discretion of the individual, tho most servers will feed a little back to the bartender, and the bartender often tips out to the support staff. It’s also not unheard of for bar staff to tip out a particularly productive server, hence the sometimes hard sell.

 

3> Casino tips are pooled among all dealers and cashiers (not sure if even split) and MUST be deposited in tip boxes by the dealer/host. Drink tips in the casino follow the rules above.

 

4> Servers in specialty restaurants receive a portion of the service charge (pooled). They would not tell me what this amount is. Additional tips may be kept or pooled depending on the policy at that particular venue and ship. There does not appear to be a corporate guideline for this.

 

5> Tips given to other activity/support staff (passenger services, kids programs, etc) are generally pooled by department but there is no set policy.

 

Again, I must stress these are Princess guidelines as confirmed by corporate, however specifics may vary from cruise to cruise based on ship operations policies. If you have questions on your cruise, the purser may be the best resource to ask

[Pam in CA]

I am wondering how they work tips. I know when I did RC a few years back I think we had the money in envelopes for the waitstaff, cabin steward do they still do it this way. We will be doing anytime dining so should we tip at each meal???

Princess eliminated the envelopes back in 2001 and implemented what is colloquially called an "auto-tip." You can remove the auto-tip and tip individually but anything you tip goes into the tipping pool. They can't keep it. If you leave the auto-tip on, you can still get envelopes from the Passenger Services Desk to tip extra if you wish.

[notentirelynormal]

Princess eliminated the envelopes back in 2001 and implemented what is colloquially called an "auto-tip."

 

2001? Man I'm getting old! Seems like yesterday. Heavy sigh. :eek:

[Pam in CA]

2001? Man I'm getting old! Seems like yesterday. Heavy sigh. :eek:

Yeah. That's when Anytime dining was introduced and a different tipping system was necessary.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I prefer the system of having the tip or hotel charge automatically put on our account. Then all we concern ourselves on the last day is whom to tip above that. It was a real hassle playing "stuff the envelope."

[satxdiver]

I view the auto-tip as simply one more charge but that charge actually goes to certain members of the crew. I like the way it works.

[PunkiC]

We love the auto-tip system. We always leave it on and then tip folks who have gone above and beyond over and above the auto-tip. This almost always includes our steward/ess, the Wheelhouse band, if they are good, and sometimes a waiter or gym instructor. We love "Anytime Dining" so we really don't get to know any specific waiters.

[mrsbojamp]

If I understand correctly, your room steward and wait staff would get to keep extra $$ in cash if you provide it at the end of the cruise. But I have question about bar wait staff. I believe that the 15% is added on your receipt for any bar beverage. They usually give an extra line for gratuities (additional) which I will add on when I feel the server has been particularly attentive. If you do this rather than giving a couple of dollar bills, does the staff member get to keep it or does that extra charge to your room account go into the tipping pool?

[coiran]

If I understand correctly, your room steward and wait staff would get to keep extra $$ in cash if you provide it at the end of the cruise. But I have question about bar wait staff. I believe that the 15% is added on your receipt for any bar beverage. They usually give an extra line for gratuities (additional) which I will add on when I feel the server has been particularly attentive. If you do this rather than giving a couple of dollar bills, does the staff member get to keep it or does that extra charge to your room account go into the tipping pool?

 

If you remove the autotip any cash you give must be returned to the pool and he will only get a portion of it.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We like the autotip procedure on Princess, where it is deducted each day. That way, if we have significant OBC, it is used for the autotips. No fiddling around with envelopes the last night either, and I hate feeling like some grand person handing out money to the the staff anyway.

 

We usually tip our steward extra on the last day, unless really mediocre (I've never had a 'bad' steward). Since we have Anytime dining, we don't tip waiters extra unless something extraordinary is done for us.

[Loonbeam]

Please see my post above. The bar staff is in a different pool, not affected by the autotip, assuming the ship is following standard corporate procedures.

 

If I understand correctly, your room steward and wait staff would get to keep extra $$ in cash if you provide it at the end of the cruise. But I have question about bar wait staff. I believe that the 15% is added on your receipt for any bar beverage. They usually give an extra line for gratuities (additional) which I will add on when I feel the server has been particularly attentive. If you do this rather than giving a couple of dollar bills, does the staff member get to keep it or does that extra charge to your room account go into the tipping pool?

[deedeetoo]

And just to let the OP know - Royal Caribbean has also switched to an auto-tip system recently. No more envelopes there either unless you want to tip someone extra.

[mrsbojamp]

Please see my post above. The bar staff is in a different pool, not affected by the autotip, assuming the ship is following standard corporate procedures.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm still not sure that if you add additional gratuity to the receipt that you sign does that goes to the server? Or do you need to give that server cash in order for them to keep it? I'm just curious because I really would like to make sure that I am truly rewarding the excellent service of a particular server.

 

As for auto-tips in general, I always keep them on and then give extra cash if I feel it is warranted. I prefer not to have too much cash when I travel and having the auto -tips really helps to minimize the cash I need to bring.

[Loonbeam]

Assuming the ship is following standard protocol, additional tips signed for go to the server. The exception is some ships may take a small piece of that to the bar support staff who handle the glasses, etc. Cash they handle themselves.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm still not sure that if you add additional gratuity to the receipt that you sign does that goes to the server? Or do you need to give that server cash in order for them to keep it? I'm just curious because I really would like to make sure that I am truly rewarding the excellent service of a particular server.

 

As for auto-tips in general, I always keep them on and then give extra cash if I feel it is warranted. I prefer not to have too much cash when I travel and having the auto -tips really helps to minimize the cash I need to bring.

[mrsbojamp]

Thanks for that clarification!! Love these boards - always so helpful!

[WisCruiser2]

When we did Anytime dining last year, we gave the waiters & assts a couple extra dollars if we felt they had been "above average." Otherwise, there's no incentive, as in Traditional dining, for "above & beyond" service, I feel.

[vent1020]

What does everyone think about tipping bar staff on top of the 15%? Just some quick math, if you pay $8 for a drink, then 15% is a $1.20 tip. At home I usually tip a buck for each drink I get. So, I think that is good enough. Not too much a bartender can do to make my 45 second experience with them worth an extra dollar on top of the 15%.

 

I just wonder if people feel like they have to write in an extra amount because the line is there to do so? :confused:

[Thrak]

If I understand correctly, your room steward and wait staff would get to keep extra $$ in cash if you provide it at the end of the cruise. But I have question about bar wait staff. I believe that the 15% is added on your receipt for any bar beverage. They usually give an extra line for gratuities (additional) which I will add on when I feel the server has been particularly attentive. If you do this rather than giving a couple of dollar bills, does the staff member get to keep it or does that extra charge to your room account go into the tipping pool?

 

My son specifically asked a bartender he liked onboard. He was told that anything added on the "tip line" of the receipt went into the pool. Any cash he tipped the bartender was allowed to keep. I figure the bartender knows how it works and that's what he told my son when asked.

[reedprincess]

What does everyone think about tipping bar staff on top of the 15%? Just some quick math, if you pay $8 for a drink, then 15% is a $1.20 tip. At home I usually tip a buck for each drink I get. So, I think that is good enough. Not too much a bartender can do to make my 45 second experience with them worth an extra dollar on top of the 15%.

 

I just wonder if people feel like they have to write in an extra amount because the line is there to do so? :confused:

We tip extra to certain bartenders if they do go above an beyond, ie remember our favourite drink, keep us topped up, etc. If it's just a "fly-by" or one time order, then no, we don't usually tip extra above the added 15%. Those bartenders that take care of us though, we take care of them back.

Some people don't realize the 15% is already added, and others always tip an average 20%, so add extra, and so on - tipping is an individual practice. If you don't want to add extra for your "45 second" interaction, makes sense to me. We often spend more time getting to know specific bartenders, and they in turn make sure our drinks are always ready in a timely manner and keep us stocked up - worth a little extra $$ to us.

Enjoy your future sailings.

[LemeLeme]

Princess has auto tips of $11.50 per person per day. This covers waiters/room steward. You may tip addl as you feel but these are added daily to your folio. $12.00 per day for suites.

 

Do they include the disembarkation day in the formula as well?

[hansi]

What does everyone think about tipping bar staff on top of the 15%? Just some quick math, if you pay $8 for a drink, then 15% is a $1.20 tip. At home I usually tip a buck for each drink I get. So, I think that is good enough. Not too much a bartender can do to make my 45 second experience with them worth an extra dollar on top of the 15%.

 

I just wonder if people feel like they have to write in an extra amount because the line is there to do so? :confused:

 

No way! 15% is more than enough!

[sailor4812]

Can anyone tell me with any authority, who gets the service charge for the drinks served in the dining rooms? The Assistant Waiters who normally serve the drinks, get their tips from the pool. To my mind this is double dipping by the cruise lines. It shows the inequity of the system.

 

Cheers

 

Bernie